Author: anythingwahine

My penchant for “discovering new” and love for food led me to scour the “best Ramen” in the area. I wasn’t into noodles until I tried ramen, for the very first time, early this year. My first ramen was in a weekend food market in Cebu, Sugbo Merkado which by the way is becoming popular recently because of its inexpensive and “that-local-experience” food. I had it for only 100 PhP! Isn’t that a treat?

So I went on and ate ramen some more – from Ramen Dojo, Ikkousha Ramen (which I’ll probably be sharing my thoughts about in another post) and the newly opened Sachi Authentic Japanese Ramen in Ayala Center Cebu. Prior to its opening, buzz had it that it was one of the best ramen so I was thrilled to know if it’ll live up to the hype.

On my first visit, I ordered Tantan Men, reddish and chilli-filled soup containing noodles (*of course), minced pork and topped with bean sprouts and thinly sliced spring onions. When tasting ramen for the first time, I’d usually check the quality of the noodles because it’d normally gives the dish away. You could tell whether or not it’s a good ramen just by judging its noodles. I must say, it lives up to my expectation (noodles that good for its price deserves a nod, make that a double nod). The broth is equally as good, I’m not sure if it has coconut milk but it tastes like it. Whatever that ingredient is, it balances the taste of the dish.

Tantan Men (Spicy Ramen). PhP 290

My friend, on the other hand, had Noukou Kotteri – with broth boiled for 24 hours which gives the dish viscosity, chasu (cut of braised pork) that melts in your mouth (yes it is that tender). It is topped with seasoned egg, sliced spring onions, bean sprouts, and wakame, a Japanese seaweed. This particular ramen is said to be rich in collagen (as the menu suggests) and because of wakame, could also be rich in iodine and calcium. Now that doubles the goodness, good and healthy food. Yay!

Noukou Kotteri , PhP 320

On my second visit (and certainly not the last, because I’m obsessive like that), we tried their Takoyaki. I have yet to acquire the taste but if I am to describe the dish, I’d say it’s pretty appetizing with the right amount of tasty and tangy – from a Takoyaki-novice that is me.

Takoyaki, PhP 95 / 6 pieces

I’d rate my overall experience 4.5/5.

Food – delish and certainly value for money

Customer Service – polite and courteous crew but they could improve on paying attention to their customers’ needs. The first time, we were not given a soup spoon and when we asked for water, they acknowledged but didn’t give us water so we had to get the spoon and the water from the buffet table ourselves (not really a bad thing but going extra wouldn’t hurt). The first time the food was served in 5 minutes, wheew that was quick. The second time though, we waited for more than 20 minutes but the TAT given to us was 20 (we had to follow up our orders twice). I’ll attribute this to the resto being fairly new so I’m taking no offense.

A korean and mexican fusion – that’s relatively new to me. I imagined bulgogi and nachos, burritos and kimchi. Err – I’d no idea how it’d taste but I was curious to know. I’d tell you upfront I am not a food critic but I love love love food.

I have not heard of Señor Kimchi until I saw it on Facebook. A week after, I found myself heading to the resto (though I initially wanted to eat steak). I ordered a popular Korean dish, Bibimbap, with the expectation, there would be a twist in it (I was expecting the “fusion” to be in every dish.) When the food arrived, I was pleased with the presentation – just like how Bibimbap should be – it looked like a color wheel with thinly sliced carrots, turnip, beets, tomatoes, red onions, rice, beff, egg, & nori toppings & cabbage underneath. The vegetables gave texture to the dish & the hot/spicy paste that tastes uniquely Korean gave it the boost of flavor, it was the real deal.

Rating: 4/5 – I was expecting a Mexican flavor/twist incorporated in the dish but that’s just me.

I also ordered Chimichanga, a known Mexican dish. Basically,it’s a deep-fried burrito – rice & beef wrapped in flour tortilla. The dish looks really pretty & delish & tastes just as delish! Again, I would not consider it a Korean-mexican fusion but I love the crisp & the cheesy flavor. Yum!

Price: PhP 280-290 (I can’t remember the exact figures :D)

Rating: 4/5

Ambiance: 4/5 – the place looks cozy but in my opinion does not imbibe a Korean-Mexican feels

Customer Service: 4/5 – members of the crew were attentive. food was delivered in less than 15 minutes. 🙂

Senor Kimchi is located at Axis Entertainment Avenue, N. Escario Street, Capitol Site, Cebu City & they’re open from 11AM-11PM.

I welcome 2017 with a goal to use less makeup and invest on skin care products. I’m turning 30 this year and I thought it’s about time to revamp my skin care routine. I have had breakouts time and again but last December was the worst. I had small bumps all over my face and acne around my forehead and cheeks. To make matters worse, my skin was dry yet oily! I was on the brink of feeling sad for myself (a hyperbole but not really LOL).

So I thought of investing on acne spot treatment (I’d say invest because I don’t usually buy skin care products this expensive). I watched videos and read articles online and them bloggers were raving about Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. It is said to be “Formulated for troubled complexion, helps out surface blemishes and balance oil in the skin. Contains natural ingredients to help draw impurities from the skin”. Sounds promising to me.

I bought this from Rustan’s for PhP 1300, a bit pricey but hey that’s skin care! I was thrilled to use it the first time because of its “promise” and I was hoping it would live up to it. The main ingredients are salicylic acid and calamine. I did my research about calamine (and I don’t usually check the ingredients too but well, the goal is to get to know the products that I put on my skin). It’s an ingredient that is intended to soothe itching, pain, & discomfort. It goes without saying, Salicyclic acid is commonly known for treating acne by reducing swelling.

HOW TO USE: Without shaking the bottle, I dip a Q-tip until it reaches the calamine (pink powder at the bottom of the bottle). (After washing my face & applying moisturizer) I dab a little amount of the product on the pimple. I start off with the larger pimples & work my way to the smaller bumps. There is a tingling sensation at first but it is not uncomfortable & probably just an indication that it’s working.

When I woke up the morning after, the pimples were visibly smaller. I continued to use it every night & I noticed the pimples dried up on the 3rd day. On the 1st and 2nd week, the whiteheads around my nose area surface and skin looked even drier. 😥 However, it gradually improves through time. I’m on my 3rd week and my skin looks visibly clearer. Yay!

I’ll continue to monitor progress and shall update this post as I see fit. 🙂

VMV has three kinds of moisturizer depending on your skin type but I specifically bought Hydra Balance as this is intended for oily and combination skin. I have had troubles finding a moisturizer that suits my skin type as I’m oily in my T-zone and dry on other parts of my face.

I first came across VMV’s moisturizer at Rustan’s Supermarket when it was given as a free sample. What a treat, I thought. I have read good reviews about the product so I was so excited to give it a try. And my, was I not pleased. I loved how it makes my skin looks moisturized but not greasy. So when I ran out of the sample product, I went straight to the VMV store and got myself the bigger tube which retails for around PHP 700.

WHAT I LIKE

+ Ideal for oily and combination skin – I notice that it helps control the oiliness on my T-zone but definitely moisturized the drier area of my face.

+ Non-comedogenic, suits sensitive skin type and it did not break me out.

+ The bigger tube contains 120 ML of moisturizer and it can last for up 4-5 months, depending on how frequent you use it (Value for Money, yes!). I use the moisturizer only in the morning right after bathing.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE

– Though it contains monolaurin that is supposed to ease breakouts, it did not help me with my pimples but it’s okay as my main purpose for purchasing it is for moisturizing alone.

I have been wanting to do a review but had not find the time to do so and I was not sure if my words would be adequate (I’m almost always lost for words) but yeah, what the heck, I love talking about make-up and skincare products. I usually love to gush about these to my friends and so I thought why not write a blog about it? Because why not?

I have oily/combination, sensitive, and acne-prone skin, not to mention the enlarged pores (talk about problematic skin, that’s me). I constantly experiment on what works (and what doesn’t?). Sometimes I get lucky, most of the times, I end up in a total blunder. But I am a free spirit and a persistent one at that so I keep on trying. I refused to limit myself to the number of failures I have had because I’m tenacious like that!

I mentioned I have an oily skin. Well, that’s an understatement. I love wearing make up almost everyday (to cover the blemishes and hyperpigmentation and because putting on make-up makes me happy like it’s my own version of Wonderland) but the make-up just don’t seem to hold longer that it should. Oil would start to build up in about 2 hours after I’ve put my make-up on. Frustrating, right? I have watched a lot of tutorial videos how to keep oil at bay and I have tried setting the make-up as instructed, from pressed powder to translucent to baby powder, but none seems to work. None. Then, I came across Etude House Zero Sebum Drying Powder!

It claims to provide clear skin without dryness or flakiness. The packaging doesn’t come with a lot of information but I am under the impression that this is a mattifying powder. I fell in love with it as soon as I applied it on my face. The texture is so fine and feels so gentle on my skin. Almost like baking soda on my skin but way better. It comes with a puff which I don’t normally use as I like using my beauty blender especially around the eye area. I also noticed that the powder seems to have a “blurring effect”, minimizing the appearance of my pores (if that’s not good enough, I don’t know what is).

Let me just go straight to the specifics:

+ WHAT I LIKE

– it’s skin-mattifying. keeps the oil at bay for at least 4 hours if I’m exposed to a warmer temperature but would stay up for at least 6 hours if I’m inside a room with a pretty decent ACU.

-smooth finish

-feels light on skin

– it smells of eucalyptus or some minty leaves (smells clean and fresh!)

-retails for 398 ; not bad for a product that would last for a month or 2

– WHAT I DON’T LIKE

-settles on fine lines but can be remedied with the use of a brush or beauty blender.

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